Newsletter 59: January 2014

UP AND COMING FOR SUBMISSION

One May morning, Katie Hayoz woke to the terrifying sound of her husband Laurent screaming. Just minutes later, she watched as an ambulance rushed him to the hospital for emergency brain surgery. Laurent had suffered a ruptured cerebral aneurysm, a burst blood vessel in the brain, a trauma experienced by 30,000 people per year in the United States alone. If Laurent were to survive the initial crisis, severe neurological or physical disabilities were an almost certain consequence.Then, in what seemed like a miracle, not only did Laurent survive, but he also emerged looking virtually unscathed. But Hayoz soon realized that the man she brought home with her–even though he looked, walked and talked like the man she’d married–was in fact a different person. Laurent had changed, and changed permanently. A memoir of struggle, denial, growth and acceptance, BEFORE AND AFTER: HOW I WENT TO BED WITH ONE HUSBAND AND WOKE UP WITH ANOTHER details Hayoz’s journey as the partner of a survivor of brain trauma. She reveals the guilt, anger and confusion that can accompany a love which is not always easy to maintain. Brutally honest and vividly depicted, Hayoz’s BEFORE AND AFTER captures raw human emotion, the difficulty and beauty of marriage and our limits on love.

Great food and hot sex meld with the law in CLIENT RELATIONS, a novel written by nationally recognized matrimonial lawyer Terri Weiss. CLIENT RELATIONS is about Casey Lang, a young, BigLaw partner who represents celebrity chef John Zambelli in an escalating custody battle. Haunted by a car accident that killed her father and brain-damaged her mother, Casey is driven to protect families. As she maneuvers John’s case through court, she encounters ruthless adversaries, punishing judicial orders–and an increasingly impossible to resist client. Casey’s best friend, Eli Maddow, knows Casey and John are on the brink of getting involved, but he can do nothing to stop it. Worse, Eli is secretly in love with her. After a string of personal losses, Casey and John start a torrid affair. Ordinarily, two isolated, vulnerable people might fall into a relationship, and find comfort for as long as it lasts. But the attorney-client relationship prevents Casey and John from being “ordinary” lovers. Danger of exposure lurks in every bedroom and courtroom, and with exposure comes destruction–not only of John’s case, but Casey’s career, and even her life. No matter what Eli does to rescue her from disaster, Casey is hell-bent on tempting fate. And John’s wife is more than willing to provide the catalyst for ruining them all, for reasons Casey never suspects. CLIENT RELATIONS provides a real insider’s view of custody cases and big firm politics, in a sexy, suspense-filled drama where unconditional love justifies unrepentant lies, and salvages uneasy lives.

I, ATHEIST: AMERICA’S LOUDEST HEATHEN FIRES BACK by David Silverman, arguably the most famous atheist activist in America, examines the effectiveness and ethics of wearing your lack of belief on your sleeve. Silverman asserts that fighting religion is ethical, that acquiescence to religious dominance is morally wrong, and winning atheist equality is not only feasible, but also good for the believer and atheist alike. As president of the American Atheists, Silverman is known worldwide as the leader in American “firebrand atheism,” and as such has appeared frequently on news and talk shows including The O’Reilly Factor, Hannity, Huckabee, CNN News, CNBC News, and The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson–on which he has a recurring role. In I, ATHEIST, Silverman not only defends firebrand atheism through detailed analysis of the positive correlations between this school of thought and the rise in tolerance and atheist normalcy, but he also touches on why being an in-your-face atheist is ethical, a radical claim with far-reaching implications for atheists and believers across the country.

“Is that your baby?” That’s the question that Nicole Blades, an author, journalist and mother, came to dread whenever she took her mixed-raced newborn out for a stroll in hipster Brooklyn. It was rarely intended as an insult, but the question was rude and dehumanizing all the same, based as it was on twisted assumptions about race, entitlement and socioeconomics. NOPE! NOT THE NANNY: STORIES OF RACE AND MOTHERHOOD is her resounding answer to that question, and to all the challenges facing mothers of color. Part piercing social commentary, part witty parenthood guidebook, with key aspects of memoir and community storytelling folded in, this book of essays is about being mistaken for the nanny, the knotted narrative of black girls’ hair, and steadying yourself for your child’s first face-off with the n-word. It’s about the momentousness of President Obama, the sour milk of racism poured over a sweet Cheerios commercial, and the value of an unarmed black teenager’s life. NOPE! NOT THE NANNY is about moving past the affront, awkwardness and anger surrounding hurtful and potentially life-death assumptions, and into the realm of enlightenment, where sensibility, insight, and empathy live. Infused with humor and an intense writer’s curiosity that looks for the connecting dots in our separate-but-same experiences, the book gives voice–clear, but compassionate–to what it’s like being a mother of color in a black and white world.

Set in the city made famous by the television showPortlandia, OUT IN PORTLAND by Karelia Stetz-Waters is a traditional romance with a very contemporary twist. As a homeless teenager, Tate Graffton took shelter in Maggie Davidson’s shop, Out in Portland Coffee. Years later, she’s still working there, watched over by the mural of a cross-eyed Gertrude Stein and dreaming of love. When a beautiful woman walks in right before closing, she thinks that dream might come true, but after one magical night the woman disappears. Tate chalks it up to another failed romance. But she has bigger problems. Out in Portland Coffee is threatened with eviction, and Maggie is about to have a meltdown. Much to Tate’s surprise, the developer orchestrating Maggie’s ruin turns out to be the beautiful woman from the night before, Laura Enfield, now dressed in a suit so sharp she could cut first ladies with her lapels. Tate persuades Laura to give her one week in which to prove that Maggie’s shop is better than any name brand franchise Laura could import. It’s a hard sell. The business is in debt. The plumbing is failing. Tate’s friends stage a 1960s style protest. And Maggie insists on displaying the art of Mariah Lesbioma, the vagina diorama artist. But even as Tate’s hopes for the coffee shop dwindle, her feelings for Laura grow. Unfortunately, for closeted Laura Enfield love is a business expense she can’t afford. Her father, a conservative senator with presidential aspirations, has no room in his campaign for a lesbian daughter, much less a lesbian in love with an urban-farming, motorcycle-riding barista. To find love, both Tate and Laura must challenge the expectations of their communities. OUT IN PORTLAND is a humorous, moving, and romantic look at sexual politics and reminds us that once you strip away the power-suits and homespun-sweater-tunic, we’re all the same and love is still universal.

By all rights the New York City Opera should be celebrating its seventieth birthday this season; it was on February 21, 1944, that the company’s first general director, Laszlo Halasz, gave the downbeat for a rousing production of Tosca. But today there is no fanfare. Instead this internationally renowned, beloved company–dubbed the “People’s Opera” because of its affordable ticket prices and its mandate to bring opera to the masses–declared bankruptcy in October after auctioning off everything from Carmen’s castanets to the vintage Coke machine from the recent updated production of L’elisir d’Amore. How does a company that set the standard for producing daring work on a shoestring budget; a company that brought Handel out of mothballs and American composers and singers to the forefront; a company that launched such operatic superstars as Beverly Sills, Plácido Domingo, and Samuel Ramey, go from presenting 156 performances of 20 operas each year to becoming a traveling band offering 16 performances of 4 operas a season? This as-yet-untitled book on the rise and fall of New York City Opera, by Rebecca Pallor, a contributor to Opera News and co-author of Julius Rudel’s acclaimed 2013 memoir First and Lasting Impressions: Julius Rudel Looks Back on a Life in Music, examines the company from its early years to the Golden Years of the Rudel era to Beverly Sills’s unprecedented success at fundraising during her tenure as general director, and the long road to ruination culminating in the board’s controversial appointment of George Steel in 2009 as general manager and artistic director of New York City Opera. With her detailed, behind-the-scenes investigation into the tragic downfall, including interviews with former New York City Opera company members, board members, and administrative staff, Pallor discovers what went terribly wrong with New York City’s treasured second opera company.

The political wife standing off to the side of the podium as her husband publicly confesses his infidelity has become a stock character. We judge her and ask, “Why does she stay?” With all the freedoms that feminism has bestowed, these wives are typically tremendously accomplished. Hillary Clinton and Silda Wall Spitzer are lawyers, Jenny Sanford an investment banker, Marion Stein a concert pianist, Valerie Hobson a star of screen and stage, Huma Abedin a political talent. The persistent ties binding them to their straying men are a mystery and continue to transfix. Broadway and television feed our interest, with Domesticated, The Good Wife and House of Cards. We are fascinated by the public spectacles because they reflect our own, far more private lives and choices. However, these couples’ marital conflicts and what they do about them matter more, in the sense that they affect the tone and public life of nations–and in some cases, the fate of governments. In WHY THEY STAY, award-winning political journalist and columnist Anne Michaudexplores these notorious, tortured unions and the important lessons they hold for the rest of us about ego, kinship, patriarchy and the modern meaning of marriage. WHY THEY STAY ventures into rarely explored terrain by reporting on the post-scandal lives not only of the couples, but also their children and extended families, to resolve which marital decisions at the crossroads resulted in the greatest emotional health and prosperity, and which were most damaging.

In times of money trouble, most people turn to a financial adviser–or, if the creditors, repo men, and SEC are already pounding at the door, a spiritual one, perhaps. They’d be better off reading novels, writes Jeremy Olshan. In WANT TO GET RICH? READ FICTION, the personal finance editor for the Wall Street Journal‘s MarketWatch site shows how reading Tolstoy can teach you to negotiate with car salesmen, how Dickens and Trollope can help spot the next Bernie Madoff, how Eliot and Flaubert can get you out of debt, how Dreiser can teach you everything you need to know about the stock market, and why we’d all be better off taking financial counsel from Edith Wharton than any graduate of Wharton. In his humorous, whirlwind tour of the financial wisdom of literature from Sophocles to science fiction, Olshan offers a corrective to recent attacks on the liberal arts. An English PhD may never be as lucrative as an MBA, but there is money in books. New research has found reading novels can make us more empathetic and better thinkers, but there’s also good reason to think books can raise our financial intelligence. Novels demonstrate the power the almighty dollar wields over our emotions, thoughts, and behavior–and the ripple effects our dealings with money have on those around us. From estate planning to college saving, these books provide a survey course in what not to do. While most financial self-help books fail to get people to make better decisions about money, novels push us to reconsider our often irrational relationship with money. They are also great fun.

Watergate stands alone as the mother of all political scandals. It culminated in the resignation of President Nixon and the convictions of twenty of his associates. It proved, we are assured, that “No man is above the law.” Geoff Shepard‘s TAINTED VERDICTS: THE CORRUPTION OF THE WATERGATE TRIALS reveals the dark side of how the Watergate convictions were obtained. Documents that Shepard has uncovered in the prosecutors’ own files in the National Archives tell a sordid tale of secret meetings, secret memos and secret collusion between those lawyers and judges who were to preside over the cases they brought against President Nixon’s aides. Americans don’t like crooks, and they don’t like cheaters. But they also have a quintessential belief in the Constitution’s guarantee of a fair trial. Indeed, the more heinous the crime or disreputable the accused, the greater the need for due process of law. TAINTED VERDICTS details the trampling of defendants’ rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. It takes readers behind the headlines and into the inner sanctum of the special prosecutors’ offices, whose own files confirm a dozen instances of judicial and prosecutorial misconduct. Shepard reveals documents that show how the trial judges were selected, how particular Nixon aides were improperly targeted, and how favorable facts were kept hidden from defense counsel. Meticulously researched and compellingly written, TAINTED VERDICTS will change the way America perceives Watergate.

Featuring an introduction by Sidney Poitier, MORE THAN MYSELF chronicles the life of Robert Hooks, the founder and producer of three significant art institutions, most prominently the internationally acclaimed Negro Ensemble Company, and successful black leading man repeatedly tapped to break the color barrier in all media before the term “colorblind casting” even existed. Hooks’ hardscrabble journey–starting in the rat-infested Foggy Bottom of Washington, DC, and the indentured summer servitude of Southern tobacco farms–mirrored that of an America going through its own seismic shifts. Hooks met Malcolm X, which awakened his sense of political responsibility. It was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,though, who changed his life. He personally counseled Robert to remember that artists were integral in the struggle for civil rights, which drove Hooks to become an outspoken, highly visible political and civil rights activist. Quincy Jones, speaking of the period, has written, “We had never seen this kind of Black arts movement since the Harlem Renaissance and Robert’s imprint was all over it.” A unique blend of autobiography and cultural study, MORE THAN MYSELF paints the picture of a time in which a unique, prickly and oddly heretofore unexamined synergy between the arts, the Civil Rights movement, and politics changed the country forever.

Nothing in Eric Weinberg‘s past as a lawyer could prepare him for the day that Andrea Johnson and her young daughter walked into his life. Andrea’s husband had died after unwittingly using blood-clotting drugs tainted with the AIDS virus. She was infected as well, neither partner realizing the danger until too late. The drug companies claimed it was an act of God, nobody’s fault. Now Andrea was in Weinberg’s modest New Jersey office, asking for his help. To win Andrea Johnson’s case, Weinberg would not only have to prove the negligence of a powerful industry with billions of dollars at stake, but also explain why governments and regulators around the world had failed. AN ACT OF MAN, by Weinberg and co-author Donna Shaw, delves into the history, science, money, and politics behind one of the worst medically induced epidemics in the history of modern medicine. AN ACT OF MAN uncovers shocking truths, such as the scheme in which government-approved medicines shot death into the veins of thousands of boys and young men suffering from hemophilia around the world. It follows a heroic group of people who, even as their numbers thinned daily from AIDS, overcame long odds and years of agony to achieve a measure of justice through intense lobbying and class-action litigation in the face of what the U.S. government eventually admitted was “a failure of leadership.” But the danger is not over.

On a rainy day in Paris, Paige Bowers sloshed across the Rue Auber with her daughter in her arms and into a seduction that changed her life. A features writer for TIME and USA Today, Bowers was charmed by Charles Garnier, an architect who had been dead almost 110 years by the time she hustled across the street for a closer glimpse of his statue, which stood outside his masterpiece the Paris Opera House. In PHANTOM: CHARLES GARNIER, HIS GREAT PARISIAN OPERA HALL AND THE SEDUCTION I COULDN’T RESIST, Bowers offers a rare look at a wild-haired visionary who emerged from one of the City of Light’s worst slums to craft a grand monument to a fading empire in an era when the can-can and corruption reigned supreme. Bowers describes how she lost–and then found–herself in the life of a man whose defining work of art is best known as the backdrop for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. Through extensive archival research, Bowers follows Charles Garnier’s journey from the Parisian slum of his birth into a career as a low-level state architect within the Second Empire regime of Napoleon III. In 1861, Garnier, unknown and 36 years old, became a pivotal part of the Great Reconstruction of Paris when he won a public competition to design a new opera house for the French capital, a commission that would make him the most famous architect in Europe, consume the next 14 years of his life, and (much, much later) remind Bowers to follow her passion, stay resilient and keep her sense of humor. PHANTOM is a biography of a little-known dreamer, an Eat, Pray, Love for geeks and a relatable tale for those who have found their sense of direction in the most unlikely of places.

There’s never been a national leader in the western world like Italy’s sleaze-mired Silvio Berlusconi, and there never will be again. But how has he gotten away with it–and will all Italians really be glad to see him go? Michael Day, the Rome Correspondent for the London Independent, addresses these questions in SILVIO BERLUSCONI: A BRIEF HISTORY OF GRIME, the first serious account of the scandalous final stages of the three-time Italian Prime Minister’s two decades on the world political stage. It is the first book on Berlusconi since the tycoon gained a permanent criminal record, for tax fraud in August 2013, prompting his expulsion from parliament. Day, the first Italy-based correspondent to write a book on the billionaire tycoon’s career, offers unique insights into the man, drawing on his six years’ in Italy to document the Berlusconi era and the legacy it holds for Italy. He details not only the gaffes, graft, and sex scandals that have made headlines around the world, but also examines the cast of characters and institutions–from mobsters to VIPs and the Vatican–that helped the mogul get to the top, and the ambiguous attitude of millions of Italians that helped him stay there. While written with more than a hint of black humor, SILVIO BERLUSCONI still manages to illuminate the social questions at the heart of the Berlusconi phenomenon, which has dented Italy’s international credibility, and even threatened its national security and world economic stability. Day reveals new details on scandals such as the bunga bunga affair that in 2013 saw the 77-year-old conservative politician convicted of paying for sex with an under-age prostitute. But it also explains how the tide of graft and sleaze has pushed Italy, a country with an already fragile grip on the principles of modern democracy, further into a downward spiral of self-interest and venality. Funny and shocking, but always authoritative and readable, Day’s SILVIO BERLUSCONI delivers exactly what’s needed for a story that’s utterly preposterous but nonetheless, essential reading.

LIFEBOAT DIARIES by Jeff Jay, author of the bestsellingLove First, the acclaimed guide to addiction intervention, blends three seemingly separate stories into one narrative. It’s not just a story of a solo sailor lost in a storm, one hundred miles from shore without any reasonable hope of survival. It’s not just the story of a hopeless addict who struggles from the depths to recover and ultimately to find a new calling. And it’s not just a story of unexpected enlightenment, served up by unforgettable characters and even some divine intervention. LIFEBOAT DIARIES mixes all these stories in the cockpit of a storm-tossed sailboat, where suspense is intertwined with laugh-out-loud moments. Jay explores relationships and loss in a way men seldom have, laying his soul bare in this tell-all memoir of one man’s interior life. The worsening storm at sea keeps readers on the edge of their seat, while the stories of life and love engage them on a deeper level. LIFEBOAT DIARIES is at once a spiritual memoir, a triumph over incredible odds and a mystery.

You’re a “roll up your sleeves and help” person; they see you as a micromanager or a meddler. You’re a master of organization; they see you as a control freak. You’re a thoughtful introvert; they see you as aloof or disengaged. You’re a person of integrity; they see you as holier-than-thou. “They” are your co-workers, your bosses, your family and friends. Their misperceptions have a direct, negative impact on your professional success and personal happiness. Leadership expert and performance coach Jill Geisler sees this phenomenon–well-intentioned people misread by others–so frequently that she’s dubbed it “the evil twin effect.” Evil Twins are the poorly explained or poorly executed shadow side of our positive behaviors and beliefs. They show up in performance evaluations at work or conflicts in our personal lives–and harm us if we fail to deal with them. In THE EVIL TWIN EFFECT: WHEN GOOD IS MISUNDERSTOOD, Geisler helps good people triumph over their Evil Twins. She provides a step-by-step “Five Lens” process through which readers take a fresh view of their interactions with others, especially their most challenging relationships. Grounded in behavioral research and practical case studies, laced with the humanity and humor Geisler brings to her teaching, THE EVIL TWIN EFFECT shows readers how to clear up misunderstandings, strengthen relationships and build lasting, positive reputations by disowning their sinister siblings.

When psychotherapist and About.com’s Parenting Teens Expert Amy Morin wrote the article “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do” for lifehack.com in November 2013, it resonated around the world. Forbes reprinted her list and the article reached 5 million views in three weeks, a new record for the magazine. Since that time, the article has been reprinted in magazines and on websites all over the world. It’s been tweeted by a vast array of people, from Olympic athletes and NFL players to stay-at-home parents and individuals struggling with mental illness. With interest from organizations including Fox Business and commentator Glenn Beck, Amy’s growing audience continues to ask her for more information about how to increase mental strength. MASTER YOUR MENTAL STRENGTH: 13 THINGS MENTALLY STRONG PEOPLE AVOID AND HOW YOU CAN BECOME YOUR STRONGEST AND BEST SELF is the answer they’ve been waiting for. To share a few examples of what we’re talking about, mentally strong people don’t waste time feeling sorry for themselves, worry about pleasing others, waste energy on things they can’t control or resent other people’s success. Amy’s book will extend the discussion much farther as she delves deeper into these hot-button issues and offers simple yet effective solutions for everyone to live according to their values and reach their own definition of success by increasing their mental strength. MASTER YOUR MENTAL STRENGTH’S universal principles will teach people how to change negative thinking patterns, regulate emotions effectively, and behave in a productive manner despite the circumstances. MASTER YOUR MENTAL STRENGTH will be the7 Habits of Highly Effective People for the next generation. (Please note, Stacey Glick is the agent for this project.)

Nora Walker used to be part of The Invisibles, a sister-like club made up of four high school girls with dark pasts who did everything together and shared their deepest secrets every month under a full moon. But when something terrible happens to one of them after graduation, three of the girls disperse, leaving Nora to deal with the horrifying aftermath alone. Fourteen years later, Nora is single and childless and working in a local bookstore that feeds her lifelong obsession with first lines of favorite novels, when one of them calls her on her thirty-second birthday. She learns that another member of The Invisibles has attempted to end her own life and has pleaded for the rest of the group to convene again in an attempt at healing. Nora is torn: she is thrilled at the thought of being in touch with The Invisibles again and revisiting their deep connection, and yet she is hesitant at seeing these women after such a long and silent period of time, especially since she has since built up barriers she is afraid to let down. The Invisibles’ reunion sets off an extraordinary chain of events, including a road trip, an animal rescue, a rekindled romance, and a car chase by law enforcement that will push the women to their limits, and change each of their lives forever. When all is said and done, only two questions remain: How much of our pasts define our present selves? And what does it take to let go of some of our most painful wounds and move on? Reminiscent of Jodi Picoult, THE INVISIBLES by Cecilia Galante is a haunting and crisp novel that will be the perfect beach read or book club pick. (Please note, Stacey Glick is the agent for this project.)

Everyone talks about SWAPS. Eat this, not that. Order X, instead of Y. Problem is our modern day swaps focus on calories, not nutrition. Protein shakes, powdered peanut butter, sugar-free syrup and fake meats to lose weight – now that’s just gross and unnatural! Your body craves real food. It wants to be fed. So in comes the first ever book to give you swaps that not only save calories, but also super-charge your nutrition. Say hello to THE SUPERFOOD SWAP DIET by Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD. Ranch dressing, pizza, burritos, sandwiches, energy drinks, candy bars…you name it…we have a super swap for you. The book includes over 100 superfood swap recipes and a complete 4-week diet plan. The promise: Make superfood swaps to lose more weight, control cravings, increase energy and give your body the vitamins & minerals it needs. The plan philosophy is simple: 1) Eat less C.R.A.P: C (cookies, cakes, candy), R (refined flour), A (animal protein), P (processed and artificial ingredients) by using superfood swaps. 2) Exercise. Never skip more than 2 days in a row. 3) Treat yo’self daily. Add simple pleasures, positive thinking and relaxation into every day. Dawn Jackson Blatner is a registered dietitian and certified specialist in sports dietetics. She is the nutrition consultant for the Chicago Cubs, a food and nutrition blogger with Huffington Post and a nutrition expert on the advisory board of Fitness Magazine. Dawn is the author of The Flexitarian Diet, recently ranked a top plant-based diet by US News & World Report. She is a trusted expert appearing regularly in media outlets such as The Today Show, Good Morning America Health and USA Today. She recently received Lifetime Television’s “Remarkable Woman Award” for her work in the field of nutrition. (Please note, Stacey Glick is the agent for this project.)

In LOWELL OF AMERICA: HOW LOWELL THOMAS DISCOVERED LAWRENCE OF ARABIA AND HELPED AMERICA DISCOVER THE WORLD, author and NYU Journalism Professor Mitchell Stephens illuminates the extraordinary career of a journalist who shaped the American Century. Thomas’s encounter with a blue-eyed, barefoot British officer in Arab robes on the streets of Jerusalem in February 1918 certainly gave his career a major boost. But that encounter would have an even more profound effect upon T. E. Lawrence. Thomas had been the only journalist to come upon him in Arabia. The multi-media extravaganza Thomas then produced about Lawrence’s exploits was seen by a total of two million people–in New York, London and around the world. The book Thomas later wrote–the first on Lawrence–was a huge bestseller. Ben Hecht rightly concluded that his buddy “half invented” Lawrence of Arabia. T. E. Lawrence’s life after Arabia was sparse and tragically short. Lowell Thomas’ long life was overstuffed with adventure, great personages and significance. His contributions to twentieth-century American journalism were seminal. For decades, he was the best-known journalist in America–his deep, clipped voice familiar through his nightly radio newscast, his face, with its neatly trimmed mustache, easily recognizable as host and narrator of the most popular weekly newsreels. He later hosted the first regular television newscast. And Thomas never stopped exploring the world, from the mountains of Tibet to the jungles of New Guinea, bringing his microphone, a camera and a sturdy set of American values (from his gold-rush town childhood) with him. As much as anyone, he acquainted Americans in the “American century” with the world in which they were coming to play such a large role. About two-dozen authors have undertaken full biographies of T. E. Lawrence. This will be the first biography of Lowell Thomas. The strength of this book, however, will lie in its perspective on what in Thomas’ time were two strapping youths: twentieth-century journalism and twentieth-century America. (Please note, Jessica Papin is the agent for this project.)

In CANCER STEPS OUT: A CENTURY OF AWARENESS, Dr. Elaine Schattner charts the sea change in attitudes toward malignancy from 1900 to the present day. The author, a physician, journalist and professor of medicine who has written for The Atlantic, the Huffington Post, and Slateamong others, explores changing perceptions of the dread disease and tacks those to American history, media and pop culture. She follows the term, all but unmentionable before 1900, as it emerged in Progressive-Era magazines and women’s clubs. In the 1920s, cancer first appeared in silent film and early awareness weeks. During the Great Depression, the uniform-clad ladies of the Women’s Field Army kept cancer alive with posters, pamphlets and penny collections. After WWII, unprecedented confidence in American technology, along with a booming economy gave cancer a starring role in research campaigns. Schattner follows cancer as it grew familiar in the 1960s and 1970s in movies and revelations by journalists, athletes and celebrities. By the 1980s, events like “Race for the Cure” had rendered cancer a hurdle, like others along life’s path and, perhaps, relative to AIDS, easy. In the 1990s, splintering agencies competed for dollars with brasher, tackier marketing strategies; cancer turned commercial. Today, millions of survivors living after treatment contribute to cancer’s changed public image. Now, cancer is ubiquitous, on TV, memoirs, in countless blogs, Facebook and Twitter. It’s become a pervasive, demanding and costly figure, from which the public has begun to turn away. From silence and secrecy to overexposure and media fatigue, Schattner–who has practiced oncology and is herself a cancer survivor–argues that awareness may have backfired, the “emperor” dethroned. This provocative and deeply researched social history of cancer reveals a quiet revolution with far-reaching and surprising implications. (Please note, Jessica Papin is the agent for this project.)

From his hospital deathbed, Mike Edison‘s father waved his eldest son closer. He was having trouble speaking. “I’m glad you’re here,” he began. “There is something I want to tell you.” He took an audibly difficult breath inside the plastic mask. “You are a complete disappointment,” he said, gasping. And that was just his opening salvo. He continued, “No one wants to read your crap…You are broken and need to be fixed…” And the coup de grace, the last words he ever said to his son, “I can’t believe someone as smart as you likes professional wrestling.” YOU ARE A COMPLETE DISAPPOINTMENT is the often hilarious but deeply heartbreaking memoir of a dysfunctional father-son relationship that begins with a child’s need for acceptance and continues through years of disapproval, bullying, and unfounded competition from a father who was threatened by his son’s happiness and libertine spirit that confounded the older man’s conservative playbook and defied his expectations. Ultimately, it is the author’s exploration of a relationship that could never be fixed, but ultimately didn’t need to be. In the spirit of Augusten Burroughs by way of Jeannette Walls, Edison’s memoir will be a candid, devastating, and deeply funny read. (Please note, Jim McCarthy is the agent for this project.)

Abbi Glines‘s foreign deals included Filipino rights for FOREVER TOO FAR to Bookware, Turkish rights to FALLEN TOO FAR, NEVER TOO FAR and FOREVER TOO FAR to Pegasus, and Portuguese rights for FALLEN TOO FAR to Saida de Emergencia. Pascal will publish FOREVER TOO FAR in Poland. French paperback rights for William McKeen‘s OUTLAW JOURNALIST went to Tristram. James Dashner‘s foreign deals included Portuguese rights for THE MAZE RUNNER to V&R Editora, Hebrew rights for THE SCORCH TRIALS to HaKibbutz Hameuchad-Sifriat Poalim, Latin American Spanish rights for THE MAZE RUNNER FILES to V&R Editora, World German rights for THE MAZE RUNNER FILES to Chicken House Germany, Russian rights for THEY EYE OF MINDS to AST, Norwegian rights for THE DEATH CURE to Cappelen Damm. Amy Thomas‘s PARIS, MY SWEET will be published in Indonesian by PT Gramedia Pustaka. The German edition of Nyrae Dawn‘s CHARADE will be published by Romance Edition. Samantha Young‘s foreign deals included German rights to INTO THE DEEP to Ullstein in Germany and Turkish rights for INTO THE DEEP and OUT OF THE SHADOWS to Dogan Egmont. Blanvalet purchased German rights toSuzanne Young‘s THE TREATMENT. THE TREATMENT and THE PROGRAM will also be published by AST in Russian. Spanish rights for A.S. King‘s REALITY BOY went to Planeta Mexico. UK rights for Cassia Leo‘s RELENTLESS, PIECES OF YOU and BRING ME HOME went to Transworld. UK rights forAndrew Smith‘s GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE and THE ALEX CROW went to Egmont. Host bought Czech rights to GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE. JC Reed‘s SURRENDER YOUR LOVE was purchased by Mozaik in Croatia. SURRENDER YOUR LOVE and CONQUER YOUR LOVE will be published by Presenca in Brazil. Portuguese rights for SURRENDER YOUR LOVE, CONQUER YOUR LOVE and TREASURE YOUR LOVE went to Única. German rights for Tara Sivec‘s SEDUCTION AND SNACKS, TROUBLES AND TREATS and FUTURES AND FROSTING went to Ullstein. James Hankins‘s BROTHERS AND BONES and JACK OF SPADES will be published in the Czech Republic by Nakladatelstvi Galatea. Portuguese rights to Richelle Mead‘s THE INDIGO SPELL went to Cia das Letras. Russian rights for VAMPIRE ACADEMY went to Eksmo. Czech rights to THE FIERY HEART went to Domino. German rights to Kitty French‘s KNIGHT AND PLAY, KNIGHT AND STAY and KNIGHT AND DAY went to VGS. Madeline Sheehan‘s UNDENIABLE, UNATTAINABLE, UNBEAUTIFULLY, UNBELOVED and UNDYING will be published in French by J’ai Lu. Dutch rights for Tracey Garvis Graves‘s UNCHARTED went to Luitingh-Sijthoff. Indonesian rights to Colleen Hoover‘s HOPELESS went to PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama. HP Mallory‘s FIRE BURN AND CAULDRON BUBBLE will be published in Thai by Grace Publishing. Complex Chinese rights to CJ Roberts‘s CAPTIVE IN THE DARK, SEDUCED IN THE DARK and EPILOGUE went to Kate Publishing. Portuguese rights to Katie Ashley‘s BEAT OF THE HEART, MUSIC OF THE HEART and STRINGS OF MY HEART went to Pandorga. Italian rights for Tilar Mazzeo‘s IRENA’S CHILDREN went to Piemme. IRENA’S CHILDREN will also be published in Portuguese by Intrinseca, Hebrew by Keter Books, Dutch by Cargo/Busy Bee, and Norwegian by Cappelen Damm. Baronet will publish Raine Miller‘s RARE AND PRECIOUS THINGS and CHERRY GIRL in the Czech Republic. Portuguese rights for Diane Peterfreund‘s ONE & ONLY went to Galera. Russian rights for Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool‘s BEWARE OF THE NIGHT went to AST. Anne Stuart‘s RAZIEL and DEMON will be published by Harlequin Mondadori in Italy.

RECENT SALES

World rights to IS STEVE KATZ A ROCK STAR? by Steve Katz went to Globe Pequot.

LIGHTS AND SIRENS by Kevin Grange went to Berkley in a World rights deal.

Jessica Papin sold World English rights to THE YEAR THE WORLD DIDN’T END: 1844 AND THE SHAPING OF MODERN AMERICA by John Bicknell to Chicago Review Press.

Stacey Glick sold Lyn-Genet Recitas‘s THE PLAN COOKBOOK, a companion cookbook to her New York Timesbestselling THE PLAN, to Grand Central Publishing in a World rights deal.

Amazon purchased World rights to BENT by Heather Heinzer.

Matt Moore‘s A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN’S KITCHEN, sold to Oxmoor House in a World rights deal by Stacey Glick.

World rights to H.P. Mallory‘s ELEVEN SNIPERS SNIPING went to Amazon.

AMERICAN CLASSICS by Colby and Megan Garrelts was sold to Andrews McMeel in a World rights deal.

John Rudolph sold World rights to the second and third book in Stephen L. Duncan‘s THE REVELATION SAGA series to Medallion Press.

World English rights to Suzanne Young‘s THE HOTEL were sold to Simon Pulse by Jim McCarthy.

The fifth and sixth books in the IMAGINARY VETERINARY series by Suzanne Selfors were sold to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.

Tadgh Bentley‘s debut picture book LITTLE PENGUIN GETS THE HICCUPS, about a young penguin who tries to scare away his hiccups with help from the reader, as well as a second untitled picture book, went to Balzer & Bray in a non-exclusive open market North American rights deal by John Rudolph.

World rights to THE MADMAN AND THE ASSASSIN by Scott Martelle were sold to Chicago Review Press.

Jessica Papin sold BEHIND THE GATES OF GOMORRAH: A YEAR WITH THE CRIMINALLY INSANE, a look inside the nation’s largest state forensic hospital home to the real-life Hannibal Lecters of the world, by Stephen Seager, MD to Gallery in a World rights deal.

Simon Pulse bought World English rights to the seventh and eighth books in the SEA BREEZE series by Abbi Glines.

Rachel Stout sold World rights to Rochelle Bilow‘s WAITING FOR RAIN, a blend of recipe book and memoir that tells the love story that transpired during her year working on a CSA farm in upstate New York, to The Experiment.

World rights to Joe Oestreich‘s and Scott Pleasant‘s LINES OF SCRIMMAGE: A STORY OF RACE, FOOTBALL, AND REDEMPTION, about the 1989 boycott of the Coway, South Carolina football season by the team’s black players, and how the boycott still echoes today, was sold to the University Press of Mississippi by John Rudolph.

The next four books in Abbi Glines‘s ROSEMARY BEACH series sold to Atria in a World rights deal.

Michael Bourret sold World rights to Anne Rockwell‘s latest picture book, about James Armistead Lafayette, a slave who was a double agent during the Revolutionary War, to Carolrhoda.

Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for YA Literature, N.H. Senzai‘s third middle grade novel PARTITION JUNCTION was sold to Paula Wiseman Books by Michael Bourret in a World rights deal.

North American rights to FALLEN TOO FAR, NEVER TOO FAR, and FOREVER TOO FAR by Abbi Glines went to Atria.

Stacey Glick sold North American rights to IRENA’S CHILDREN, the remarkable true account of Irena Sendler who saved 2,500 Jewish children in Warsaw, Poland during WWII, by the bestselling author of THE WIDOW CLICQUOT Tilar Mazzeo to Gallery.

Gayle Forman‘s A CODE UNKNOWN was sold to Viking by Michael Bourret in a North American rights deal.

World rights to the first three books in Nicole Williams‘s new YA series were sold to Crown.

Michael Bourret sold the first four titles of veteran children’s author Anne Rockwell‘s new series of MY FIRST, books about dealing with child firsts, in a World rights deal to Aladdin.

Jeffrey Brazil‘s UNBREAKABLE was sold to National Geographic Books in a World rights deal.

Stacey Glick sold World rights to Chitra Agrawal‘s FROM BANGALORE TO BROOKLYN, a fresh, accessible take on South Indian vegetarian home cooking in the young and inventive setting of a Brooklyn kitchen, to Ten Speed.

World rights to JUNK by Alison Stewart were acquired by Chicago Review Press.

Michael Pace‘s ONE TO GO, in which a Washington D.C. lawyer owes five souls to a pair of demons in exchange for the life of his daughter, was sold to Oceanview Publishing in a World rights deal by John Rudolph.